


Change

by shinysylver



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Lives, Ben Solo Lives, Exegol (Star Wars), Identity, M/M, Post-Battle of Exegol, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Pre-Slash, working together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26308396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinysylver/pseuds/shinysylver
Summary: "Look, I know you hate me. For good reason. But I'm not the same person I used to be."Hux snorted. "Used to be? You mean ancient history like yesterday?"
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 63
Collections: write to my heart





	Change

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Write to My Heart shiritori community. I had to start this fic with the word "ideas."
> 
> Just a short little flashfic of Exegol feels. Apparently my muse still enjoys rolling around in the Exegol feels.

“Ideas?” Ren asked. 

Ren actually asking for Hux's input meant the situation was even worse than he'd originally thought. Hux took a half-step back until he was standing with his back pressed against Ren's, his blaster pointed at the approaching Sith Cultists. 

"Can't you just use the Force?" 

Ren hesitated before answering. "I can't. I'm too drained."

For six miserable years Ren had looked down on him because he wasn't a Force user. He'd been choked and had his mind invaded more times that he could count. There had rarely been a day where he hadn't cursed the mystical power and its unnatural hold on the First Order. But today, when he actually wanted Ren to use it apparently he couldn't. 

"From what?" Hux let off rapid succession of shots, taking down several Sith Cultists. "Where's your lightsaber?"

Ren used his own blaster to take out a few more cultists before answering. "It's… a long story."

"Why is nothing ever simple with you?" Hux muttered. He scanned the throne room, trying to come up with a plan. 

"It's a gift."

Hux blinked. "Did you just make a joke? Since when do you joke?"

"I'm trying something new," Ren said, his voice dry. "Do you like it?"

"No!" Hux exclaimed. Ren sounded nothing like himself. It was unnerving. "Are you sure you're Kylo Ren?"

"No." Ren laughed, a slightly hysterical edge to the sound. "No, I'm not."

"We don't have time for this, _whatever_ this is." Hux pointed at a small corridor, barely visible behind the throne. "That hall should be more defensible."

He cleared a path in front of him, shooting down five cultists, and took off for the throne. He couldn't move very fast with his injuries and had to lean on a makeshift cane which hindered his ability to shoot his blaster, but thankfully Ren was actually watching his back for once. Blaster bolts sprayed around him, taking out cultists long before they could reach him. 

Hux wanted to be irritated about Ren's natural skill with blasters, despite rarely using them, but under the circumstances he decided to be grateful. He had been plotting Ren's death as recently as a few hours ago, but at the moment he was glad his plot had failed. He was under no illusions about his ability to survive the aftermath of Exegol without help.

What he'd thought was a corridor turned out to be a small antechamber, but it had thick, reinforced doors so they locked themselves in to regroup. 

"What now?" Ren asked. He was breathing heavily which was unusual. Perhaps Ren really was injured in some way. 

Hux looked around the room. There was a wide variety of medical equipment, probably to provide support for Palpatine. He sat down in front of a control panel and pulled up an inventory to see if anything could help with his injuries. "We wait." 

"Give me a few minutes to rest and then I can get us out of here."

Hux gave Ren a long accessing look. Now that he was paying attention, he realized that the man was standing differently that normal. His whole bearing and demeanor was different. Ren pushed his hair out of his face and Hux's eyes followed the movement. 

Hux gasped when he saw the smooth unscarred cheek. He didn't know how he'd missed noticing before. He quickly raised his blaster. "Who are you?"

Ren narrowed his eyes at the blaster, which was aimed directly at his chest. "I've already died once today. I'd rather not make it twice."

That statement was concerning, but Hux pushed it aside to ask about later. "Then answer my question."

"Ben Solo? Maybe?" Ren took a deep breath and scowled at the blaster. It suddenly flew to the side, clattering against a storage cabinet. Apparently the action took a lot out of him, though, because he stumbled a step, nearly falling. He straightened up and glared at Hux. "Don't underestimate me."

There was a dark edge to his words that sounded a lot more like the Kylo Ren that Hux knew and loathed. Strangely enough he found the familiarity comforting at the moment. 

"So this is all some weird Force thing?"

"Pretty much."

Hux turned back to the control panel. "Figures."

Ren sat down in the chair next to Hux. The glare was gone and in its place was a disturbingly soft expression. "Look, I know you hate me. For good reason. But I'm not the same person I used to be."

Hux snorted. "Used to be? You mean ancient history like yesterday?"

Ren flushed. "A lot's happened since then."

"Like dying?" At Ren's nod, Hux sighed. He didn't really want to tackle that quite yet so he focused on the original point. "People don't just change overnight. Or ever."

Ren frowned at him, a look that was too knowing, almost like he saw into Hux's past and was cataloging every time Hux had wished that change was possible only to have his hopes dashed. Of course with the Force he probably could. Ren leaned in closer to him. "Truce? At least until we get off this planet?"

Hux didn't like the way Ren was looking at him, like he was a puzzle to solve, but he knew that a truce would be his best chance for survival. He could figure out what the hell was going on with Ren later. He nodded curtly. 

Ren smiled briefly--an expression that Hux had never seen before--and turned his own attention to the panel. "Anything useful?"

Hux studied Ren's profile. "Maybe."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are much appreciated.
> 
> You can find my social media information in my profile. :D


End file.
